Dozens of House Democrats are putting further pressure on Defense Secretary Mark Esper not to divert an additional $7.2 billion in appropriated funds to southern border wall construction. The idea, which has been widely reported, has Esper’s backing.
About half of the money would come from military construction projects funded by Congress, reports have said.
More than 30 Democrats signed a letter to Esper last week that argues against the move, according to The Hill.
The additional transfer would bring the total amount of diverted money to $13.3 billion, they wrote, adding it would equal “more than the full unit acquisition cost of a Ford class aircraft carrier, the entire research and development cost for the Columbia class of submarines, or the $10.6 billion to purchase 98 F-35s in FY2020.”
Customs and Border Protection photo by Glenn Fawcett